The expensive-looking style anyone can pull off

Nobody wants to be described as vanilla. It may be essential to a good creme anglaise, but it’s also become a synonym for all things bland. Vanilla sex. Vanilla music. A vanilla personality.

When it comes to style, it’s a different story, because the ‘Vanilla Girl’ aesthetic of wearing shades of white is in. Look at the red carpet – at the Critic’s Choice Awards on Tuesday night, Cate Blanchett, Anya Taylor Joy and Elle Fanning were all dressed in creams and whites. The hashtag has generated millions of views, likes and shares across social media platforms thanks to wholesome looking influencers posing in head-to-toe cream, on a matching boucle sofa.

For those of us old enough to remember life pre-millenium, the idea that an all-cream wardrobe is chic is nothing new. It’s long been the style signature for the kind of person wealthy enough to afford the dry cleaning bill that comes hand-in-hand with the look. This is the ‘Vanilla Woman’ – you won’t find her on TikTok, but she’s quietly been influencing our wardrobes since long before the platform even existed.

Fashion’s shift to a more monochrome and minimalist aesthetic has shed fresh light on the allure of the Vanilla Woman, archetypes of which include Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Gwyneth Paltrow and the Duchess of Sussex. It’s a palate cleanser after all the puffed shoulders, oversized collars and prints that have dominated catwalks over the past few years.

In times of financial hardship, economists have observed that sales of trend led fashion items go down and sales of classics go up, and what could be more classic than a cream wool coat or oversized knit that you know will never go out of style? Even a high street purchase looks expensive in cream, which cannot be said for black.

Vanilla Woman knows that wearing a single colour head-to-toe elongates the silhouette, and that cream is a flattering neutral on the skin – vital when you’ve no chance of escaping for some winter sun. Like pearl jewellery, “cream lends a warm but bright tone on the skin,” says personal stylist Annabel Hodin. “It looks a million dollars and works in any setting, so it’s a rather unexpected wardrobe staple – I make sure all my clients have the ingredients for the Vanilla Woman look.”

Vanilla Woman is more than just a fashion trend. It’s a lifestyle, and her influence extends to homewares (sofas and Belgian linen sheets), fragrance (vanilla inflected scents like Mugler Angel are enjoying a revival) and even diet (Ms Vanilla likes her latte with organic cashew milk). She’s glowing with good health thanks to a vinyasa yoga habit (and maybe her aesthetic dermatologist - not that she’ll ever admit it).

She could be a street style influencer in Stockholm, a writer in the Cotswolds, or even an A-lister in Malibu. What unites Vanilla Women is that pared back, luxe, layered aesthetic - and a remarkable ability not to spill coffee on their clothes.

Which vanilla woman are you?

The country vanilla girl

She’s on first name terms with Carole Bamford of Daylesford Organics, and lives in a converted barn that once appeared in Architectural Digest. She thinks Soho Farmhouse has ‘ruined’ the Cotswolds, but is secretly thrilled that it’s pushed up the value of her home.

She buys her fruit and veg from local farm shops, drives an electric hybrid Land Rover (white, obvs), and won’t go anywhere without her immaculately groomed goldendoodle, Henry, who has a bigger following than she does on Instagram. Somehow, despite living in the countryside, neither she nor her dog or car ever have a speck of mud on them.

The look: Oversized knits, preferably made from British wool (so much more sustainable than cashmere, you know). A quilted jacket is usually thrown over her shoulders, while Le Chameau wellies inject just the right degree of country style cred.

Left to right: Wool hat, £65, navygrey.co; Cable knit wool jumper, £109, arket.com

The Hollywood vanilla girl

She has a beach house in Malibu, shares a nutritionist with Gwyneth Paltrow, and gets screeners for all of the Oscar nominated films through a friend on the committee.

She’s always in heels, because nobody walks anywhere in LA, and you never know which A-lister you’ll run into at Starbucks. Her almost exclusively cream wardrobe is the perfect complement to her glowing, pilates-honed skin.

The look: Wide-legged trousers, understated suiting and sleek midi dresses.

Left to right: Pillow Tabby bag, £395, coach.com; Straight leg trousers, £305, ralphlauren.co.uk

Edgy vanilla girl

She’s the creative director of an indie magazine you’ve probably never heard of and sits front row at Stockholm and Copenhagen fashion weeks. She has an innate ability to make ordinary wardrobe basics like T-shirts, blazers and straight-leg jeans look like high fashion, even though most of her wardrobe is from Arket or Cos.

She knows the key to a well put-together look is in a high-low mix; the odd investment piece from London-based Rejina Pyo or Scandi labels like House of Dagmar, Filippa K can elevate high street staples.

Despite being a Vanilla Woman, she’s practical: she walks or cycles everywhere, so her clothes need to allow for that. Her boots may be cream, but they’re also flat with a chunky track sole, and the Uniqlo crescent-shaped bag slung across her chest is machine washable.

The look: Structured blazers and knitted co-ord sets. She loves anything asymmetric or slightly off-kilter.

Left to right: Wool blend coat, £375, gant.com; Silk shirt, £198, reiss.com